Monday, July 31, 2006

Taking Advantage and Changing My Routine

I have a tendency to only be able to focus on one thing at a time. I also have a tendency to obsess over that one thing 24/7 until the intensity fizzles off to obscurity. Right now my focus is 100% on strategizing on my weight loss plan and blogging. This usually takes between 2-4 weeks. Afterwards I cycle to unfocused boredom then on to the next obsession. I'm trying to temper my cycle so that I don't waste my time in the extremes of it where I can't seem to be productive in other facets of my life. At the same time, I am trying to ride on this intense focus to set-up a time-efficient workout and weight loss plan, so that when focus disappears I can go on cruise control. Analyzing my plan so far, I realized that I had made my efforts too time consuming and tedious, which was one of the reasons why I had fallen out of focus in the recent past (more on that later).

Back in January 2004 I had developed a workout routine that I held myself to religiously (except when sick or amnesic). It when like this...

5 days/wk aerobics 30-60min
3-days/wk strength training 10-30min
Stretch muscles used after each workout
10 mins of warm-up and cool-down each workout

Now I'm revisiting that routine, hoping to make it more efficient. The new one looks more like this...

3days/wk aerobic 45-60
2days/wk strength training at least 20min
3days/wk stretch 10min
10 mins of warm-up and cool-down each workout

This will change my typical workout session from 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes, but it will decrease the frequency from 5x/wk to 3x. I'm hoping I can cut back on prep time and time it takes to warm up and cool down.

If anyone has any feedback out my workout routine so far, I would appreciate it.

These are the books I use to develop my workout routine…

Getting in Shape (Barnes & Noble Basics Series) by Carol Leonetti Dannhauser, Sandra Michaelson-Warren, and Sandra Michaelson Warren

and

“A Lifetime of Weight Control and Fitness” by Debra Waterhouse
Does anyone else know of any other books that are easy to understand?

Sunday, July 30, 2006

The Shark Effect

Did you know that sharks close their eyes when they eat?

I'm like a shark when I eat something that I know I shouldn't. Yesterday, my mom gave my son a canister of potato chips to take home with him. (Good ole grandma). When my son went upstairs to go to the bathroom and pick a story for me to read, I swiped some. I ate it fast and standing up. Because I didn't want my son to know that I ate his chips. Because I knew I shouldn't be eating it. It was as if eating quickly would erase my act from existence. Then after my son slept innocently, I ate more of his chips. Again I ate it quickly. This time my husband was watching me. This time I ate quickly hoping that my husband wouldn't notice and comment about it. But I saw him noticing, so I ate even faster, hoping to tap into the secrets of time and space and erasing what I was doing. 1/3 of the canister. I felt so guilty. I hid the rest of the chips. Not to keep me from temptation, but in the hopes that my son will forget about the chips so that he won't find out how his mom acted so selfishly.


Shark Attack III Megalodon
Originally uploaded by Arkanh.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Richard Simmons and My Mom


Don't get me wrong. I totally love my mom, but I also think she's the most annoying person in the world. Growing up, she pushed on me the values of good looks and staying thin, which I always thought were too important to her. Her superficiality made me nauseous. Growing up, I remembered the random acts she embarked in to achieve these goals. Her all time favourite workout tape is "Richard Simmons' Sweating to the Oldies". Today, I went to my parents' house so that she can watch the kids while I exercised. I decided to use this tape. I have nothing against Richard Simmons. Actually, I think he's wonderful, considering how he inspires others to workout and eat right. But when I was working out to my mom's tape, I felt like I was selling myself out. I felt like I was trying to emulate my mom whom I am disgusted with. This made me not want to work out as hard. Made me self-conscious as to who was watching me. Made me bad mouth the tape, so I wouldn't be like my mom whom absolutely adored it. When I finished my workout, I let out a sigh of relief. It's over. I no longer have to be my mom. I decided to never workout with this tape ever again. What is it about mothers that they evoke such strong emotions?

Friday, July 28, 2006

Food Journal





This is what I'm doing right now after much revising, refocusing, and re-strategizing...

A long time ago... Well not that long. 5 years ago. I borrowed a manual from the hospital's library called "A Lifetime of Weight Control & Fitness" by Debra Waterhouse. It presented a behaviour modification program towards weight loss. It said that the program should take about half a year to complete. I got to the part where it asked me to track what, how, where, and when I ate and I lost it. It was so tedious for me. I dropped the program after a week. Looking back now I think I made it more tedious then it really was. I was too concern with being accurate and perfect. Well 5 years and two kids later, I've learned my lesson. Now I think I'm ready to revisit the program. (Good thing I decided to copy and keep the manual). So far, I've recorded for one week. The manual suggested that I do this a minimum of two weeks. Although I have accomplished so much so far, I'm starting to forget to record, and not so long ago my focus was so strong that I was recording while I was eating. Now I'm lucky that 3 meals have not pass until I finally get my act together. By then I'm struggling to remember the details. Well I only have one more week to go. Then I can analyze myself and figure out what I need to work on.

Above are pictures of typical meals I eat. From top to bottom: breakfast, lunch, and dinner


I fear no one’s opinion! I am knowledgeable, focused, and efficient. I make this priority and build from experience. I do this for my children and myself. Supported by love, I will persevere.